# Fractional CTO Engagement Rules

> The Fractional CTO Engagement Rules carries 6 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 5,000 to 15,000,000 GBP, read 7 November 2026.

Fractional CTO cost · https://fractionalctocost.co.uk/datasets/fractional-cto-engagement-rules/ · computed 2026-11-09

**Range of the published figures:** 5,000 to 15,000,000 GBP (range 5,000 to 15,000,000 GBP; 6 published figures; 5 of 0 sources read publish one).

5 of the 0 named sources read in full publish a figure; 0 publish none, read 7 November 2026.

## By rule

| Breakdown | Median | Range | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|
| rule employer-nic-secondary-threshold | 5,000 GBP | 5,000 to 5,000 GBP | 1 |
| rule employment-allowance | 10,500 GBP | 10,500 to 10,500 GBP | 1 |
| rule auto-enrolment-qualifying-earnings-floor | 6,240 GBP | 6,240 to 6,240 GBP | 1 |
| rule auto-enrolment-employer-minimum | 3 % | 3 to 3 % | 1 |
| rule small-company-turnover-limit | 15,000,000 GBP | 15,000,000 to 15,000,000 GBP | 1 |
| rule small-company-balance-sheet-limit | 7,500,000 GBP | 7,500,000 to 7,500,000 GBP | 1 |
| rule ir35-status-disagreement-response | 45 day | 45 to 45 day | 1 |
| rule vat-registration-threshold | 90,000 GBP | 90,000 to 90,000 GBP | 1 |

## Every figure, with its source

One row per source: the figure the source's own page publishes, the page, and the day it was read.

| Source | Figure | Breakdown | Read |
|---|---|---|---|
| [Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382) | 15,000,000 GBP | small-company-turnover-limit | 2026-11-04 |
| [Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382) | 7,500,000 GBP | small-company-balance-sheet-limit | 2026-11-04 |
| [How VAT works: VAT thresholds - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/how-vat-works/vat-thresholds) | 90,000 GBP | vat-registration-threshold | 2026-11-04 |
| [Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027) | 10,500 GBP | employment-allowance | 2026-10-19 |
| [Workplace pensions: What you, your employer and the government pay - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay) | 6,240 GBP | auto-enrolment-qualifying-earnings-floor | 2026-11-07 |
| [Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027) | 5,000 GBP | employer-nic-secondary-threshold | 2026-10-19 |
| [Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/1/part/2/chapter/10) | 45 day | ir35-status-disagreement-response | 2026-11-07 |
| [Workplace pensions: What you, your employer and the government pay - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay) | 3 % | auto-enrolment-employer-minimum | 2026-11-07 |

## The sentence each figure was read from (8)

- [Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382), read 2026-11-04: "The qualifying conditions are met by a company in a year in which it satisfies two or more of the following requirements— Turnover [F3Not more than £15 million]"
- [Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382), read 2026-11-04: "The qualifying conditions are met by a company in a year in which it satisfies two or more of the following requirements— Turnover [F3Not more than £15 million] Balance sheet total [F4Not more than £7.5 million] Number of employees Not more than 50 For a period that is a company's financial year but not in fact a year the maximum figures for turnover must be proportionately adjusted."
- [How VAT works: VAT thresholds - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/how-vat-works/vat-thresholds), read 2026-11-04: "Circumstance Threshold What to do Total taxable turnover More than £90,000 Register for VAT"
- [Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027), read 2026-10-19: "Employment Allowance for 2026 to 2027 is £10,500."
- [Workplace pensions: What you, your employer and the government pay - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay), read 2026-11-07: "In most automatic enrolment schemes, you’ll make contributions based on your total earnings between £6,240 and £50,270 a year before tax."
- [Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027), read 2026-10-19: "£5,000 per year"
- [Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/1/part/2/chapter/10), read 2026-11-07: "If the client fails to comply with the duty in subsection (2) before the end of the period of 45 days beginning with the date the client receives the representations, section 61N(3) and (4) has effect from the end of that period until the duty is complied with"
- [Workplace pensions: What you, your employer and the government pay - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay), read 2026-11-07: "The minimum your employer pays You pay Total minimum contribution From April 2019 3% 5% 8%"

## Methodology

Every row is a verbatim sentence read from the named source's own page through our fetch service on the date shown, hash-pinned to the stored read (the sha of the page's visible text; the raw page is mirrored to R2). 5 of the 0 named sources that could be read published a usable figure; 0 published none and are recorded as not published, never filled in; 9 could not be read (blocked, dead or unreachable) and count nowhere. The headline figures (median, minimum, maximum, quartiles) are over ONE figure per source for each breakdown it prices, in GBP (a source's median where its page yielded several accepted sentences for one breakdown), so a page that gives figures for several breakdowns gives one for each and N counts 6 figures, never sentences; 142 candidate sentence(s) were refused by a reviewer with the reason recorded. The fuller derivation this dataset is chartered to grow into (not yet what the figures above are; they are each source's own published figure as read): one row per rule with its authority and current figure: whether the client or the contractor decides IR35 status (by the client's size under Companies Act s382), the VAT registration threshold and standard rate that sits on a VAT-registered firm's fee, the employer NIC rate, secondary threshold and auto-enrolment minimum that load the full-time comparison, and whether a fractional CTO's cost can count toward R&D relief

## Sources

- [Understanding off-payroll working (IR35) - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/understanding-off-payroll-working-ir35) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Off-payroll working for clients - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/april-2021-changes-to-off-payroll-working-for-clients) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Check employment status for tax (CEST) - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/check-employment-status-for-tax) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Companies Act 2006](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2006/46/section/382) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Income Tax (Earnings and Pensions) Act 2003](https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2003/1/part/2/chapter/10) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [How VAT works: VAT thresholds - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/how-vat-works/vat-thresholds) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Rates and thresholds for employers 2026 to 2027 - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/rates-and-thresholds-for-employers-2026-to-2027) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Workplace pensions: What you, your employer and the government pay - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/workplace-pensions/what-you-your-employer-and-the-government-pay) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)
- [Check if you can claim Research & Development (R&D) tax relief - GOV.UK](https://www.gov.uk/guidance/corporation-tax-research-and-development-rd-relief) (the publisher's own terms; quoted for reporting and comment)

## Cite or embed

- The Fractional CTO Engagement Rules carries 6 published figures read from 4 sources' own pages, from 5,000 to 15,000,000 GBP, read 7 November 2026.
- 5 of the 0 named sources read in full publish a figure; 0 publish none, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule employer-nic-secondary-threshold: median 5,000 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule employment-allowance: median 10,500 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule auto-enrolment-qualifying-earnings-floor: median 6,240 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule auto-enrolment-employer-minimum: median 3 percent across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule small-company-turnover-limit: median 15,000,000 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule small-company-balance-sheet-limit: median 7,500,000 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule ir35-status-disagreement-response: median 45 day across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.
- Fractional CTO Engagement Rules, rule vat-registration-threshold: median 90,000 GBP across 1 source, read 7 November 2026.

Cite as: "fractionalctocost.co.uk Fractional CTO Engagement Rules", updated 2026-11-09, https://fractionalctocost.co.uk/datasets/fractional-cto-engagement-rules/.

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